George Michael's Faith guitar sells for £180,000 at auction

Summarised from 2 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 30 Oct, 18:20 · Archive

The guitar George Michael used in his 1987 Faith music video has sold for £180,000 at auction.

The guitar George Michael performed with in his 1987 Faith music video has sold for £180,000 at auction. The guitar was one of 32 items sold by Sworders from the collection of Siobhan Bailey, George Michael's long-time personal assistant. The total sale fetched £238,000 excluding buyers' premium. The items included signed photographs, invitations to events and presentation CDs and discs.

Bailey, who lived in Wallingford, died in 2014. She was in the process of divorcing her husband but was legally still married to Ian Belcher at the time of her death and did not leave a will, meaning the collection passed to him. Belcher proceeded to sell the items through the auction house.

Bailey's brother Gerard told the BBC she would be horrified at the prospect of the auction being held in her name and that her personal possessions were being sold to the highest bidder. He said his sister had been in the process of drafting a will before her death to leave the items to her nieces and nephews, but acknowledged Belcher had the right to sell them.

Sworders chairman Guy Schooling said Belcher had been 'nothing but delightful' during their interactions. 'There are two ways of looking at this - it can be cashing in, or it can be a bit of a memorial and a tribute to Siobhan, and that's the way we've looked at it,' he told BBC News.

How it is being reported

• George Michael's guitar sells for £180k following family disputeThe guitar George Michael performed with in his 1987 Faith music video has sold for £180,000 at auction, after a row over the sale of memorabilia related to the singerOxford Mail · 30 Oct, 17:45
• George Michael's guitar sells for £180k following family disputeThe guitar George Michael performed with in his 1987 Faith music video has sold for £180,000 at auction, after a row over the sale of memorabilia related to the singerOxfordshire Guardian · 30 Oct, 17:45
• 'Cruel betrayal' as George Michael's Faith guitar is for auctionAn auction of singer George Michael’s personal memorabilia which includes the guitar from the Faith music video has sparked a family row, according to a reportOxfordshire Guardian · 29 Oct, 12:09
• 'Cruel betrayal' as George Michael's Faith guitar is for auctionAn auction of singer George Michael’s personal memorabilia which includes the guitar from the Faith music video has sparked a family row, according to a reportOxford Mail · 29 Oct, 12:09

In this story: George Michael · Siobhan Bailey · Gerard Bailey · Ian Belcher · Sworders · Wallingford · Goring

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